Assessing Department

Welcome to the Assessing Department Web Page!

On October 26th, 2005, East Bay Charter Township contracted with Grand Traverse County Equalization to update township property assessment information and to be the registered assessor of record for East Bay Charter Township.

Our staff will continue to be in the field to measure structures and update photos on a regular basis. The use and distribution of this information provides an indirect benefit to any individual who wishes to buy, sell, or finance property in the township.

The assessor and staff face the responsibility and challenge of accurately and efficiently estimating the market value of taxable properties. How well the challenge is met directly affects the proportion of local government costs borne by each and every property owner, as well as the effectiveness of local government in general.

Michigan Constitution and property tax law requires that all property be uniformly assessed at no more than 50% of true cash value, which is the cash price a property could bring in a competitive and open market.

General Property Tax Act [MCL211.1] requires real and personal property to be assessed annually in each township and city by a certified assessing officer. The assessment roll must include the name and address of every person subject to taxation in the municipality. The roll must also contain a full property description, including the number of acres.

The assessing department is required to maintain assessing records, which includes annual assessments, taxable values, maintenance of owner and taxpayer name and address, legal descriptions and homestead information for each property in the township. Inspections of properties will be made to continually develop accurate assessing records. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

There are various reasons that your assessed and taxable values can increase. The assessed value represents 50% of the value of the property and has no limit in which is can increase. Some of the reasons that an assessed value can increase is because of improvements made to the property and general market increases. Taxable values are capped at the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is less, unless there are new improvements made to the property.

For parcel or GIS data, please visit http://www.liaa.cc/gtcounty and click on the County Map logo on the left side of the page.

For questions or assistance please call 231.922.4759 or 231.947.8647.

Email address: skarakos@co.grand-traverse.mi.us

We hope this endeavor will further enhance the availability of information to the township residents. We thank you for your cooperation and support!

Please visit our websites: www.eastbaytwp.org & http://www.grandtraverse.org/

Phone number: (231).922.4772

Laurie Spencer - Director, CMAE IV

lspencer@co.grand-traverse.mi.us

Mark Mullet - Deputy Director, CMAE III

mmullet@co.grand-traverse.mi.us

Susan Karakos - Appraiser II, CMAE II

skarakos@co.grand-traverse.mi.us